Making the Nation’s Table
African/American
OBJECTIVE
African/American: Making the Nation’s Table celebrates the countless Black farmers, chefs, and food and drink producers who have laid the foundation for American food culture. The exhibition - located at The Africa Center on Museum Mile - celebrates over 400 years of African American culinary history and innovations.
Museum of Food and Drink (MOFAD) was brought on to curate the exhibit. MOFAD commissioned us to assemble production teams to create two virtual reality experiences taking visitors on an immersive journey to discover the stories of African American food and drink producers. We were also charged with the production of a set of video videos profiling former Ebony Magazine food editors to be installed alongside the reconstruction of the Ebony Test Kitchen within the museum exhibition space.
PUTTING THE PUZZLE TOGETHER
Creative Development
360 Video: Together with the museum, we identified possible topics and characters whose stories would best represent the narrative, values of the exhibit - to celebrate African American food heritage and to underscore the thesis that black food is American food.
2D Videos: Research was conducted into the historic and cultural relevance of Ebony Magazine’s Date with a Dish column as well as the impact it has on the lives of our subjects.
Pre-Production
360 Video: For the 360 Video, Interviews were conducted with the proprietors of Jones BBQ (Kansas City, KS) - sisters Deborah and Mary Jones as well as the sixth generation proprietor of Gilliard Farms (Brunswick, GA), Matthew Raiford and his partner Jovan Sage.
Location scouts were conducted virtually. A crew of creative and technical virtual reality specialists were hired, including Co-Director, Contessa Gayles.
2D Videos: Crews and locations were selected for the three shoots. Former Ebony food editor, Charlotte Lyons’ interview was conducted in Atlanta, GA and Charla Drapers was conducted in the reconstructed liunge of the Ebony Test Kitchen. We shot the interview with the Food Historian, Jessica B. Harris at the countertop of the Kitchen.
Production
360 Video: The shoot was a solid week of action living and working alongside our documentary subjects. The shoot schedule included sunrise at Driftwood Beach in Brunswick, GA and lighting the BBQ fire at midnight in Kansas City, KS.
A variety of shooting techniques were employed to add visual dynamism to the piece, including aerial 360 video captured from a drone, high fidelity stereoscopic portraits of the immersive documentary’s subjects and several unique vantager points. Our 360 cameras were mounted to tractors, a sugarcane press and lodged inside a BBQ smoker.
2D Videos: Expansive, open-ended conversations were captured on film with our subject experts.
Post-Production
360 Video: Candid conversations captured over days with our subjects were trimmed down to align with the museum’s narrative mission. The resulting audio interviews are paired with meditative and humorous immersive cinema scenes.
2D Videos: Archival photos and magazine page scans are juxtaposed with the conversations. The videos each focus on a different aspect of the lasting importance of Date with a Dish and the Ebony Test Kitchen on our culture today.
FINAL PRODUCT
Museum guests break bread, share stories, and connect with one another in the country’s first major exhibition celebrating African American contributions to American cuisine.
Immersive Documentary Virtual Reality Experiences
BLACK SMOKE | Meet Deborah and Mary Jones of Jones Bar-B-Q in Kansas City. Immerse yourself in the fiery pit and busy kitchen of their intergenerationally-owned restaurant.
COASTAL ROOTS | Tour Gilliard Farms with Matthew Raiford and Jovan Sage. Explore the sprawling landscape, rows of hibiscus, and chicken coop at this historic, centennial farm in Brunswick, Georgia.
Ebony Test Kitchen Installation Videos
Former Ebony Magazine food editors Charlotte Lyons and Charla Draper reminisce on their defining moments over the decades. Food historian, Jessica B. Harris provides contextual significance for the Date with a Dish column.